Sun-baked Cartagena is the gem of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Its old city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is filled with a mix of narrow lanes teeming with crumbling, bougainvillea-covered Spanish homes, small and big plazas, couture boutiques, bars, and cafes. The wealthy buy luxurious beachfront condos here, and the poor live in barrios outside the city, where unpaved roads and frequent robberies still don’t dampen their ability to party until dawn. With perfect weather and beautiful people, Cartagena has quickly become one of the premiere party spots for wealthy Europeans and Latin Americans.

Like every Caribbean destination, the tropical weather is a big draw. Cartagena has the added benefit of being an old city situated inside a spectacular Spanish fort that you can spend days exploring. Spend the morning in town, and the afternoon on the beach just people watching. The old city’s filled with museums: one for the Spanish inquisition, several with modern art and an old monastery. Then there’s the local market where you can buy Amazonian tropical fruit and practice your bargaining skills. Finally, there’s the ridiculously good nightlife, whether you’re sitting under a tree in a plaza and drinking rum out of dixie cups or moving to Cartagena’s trademark Champeta beats. The dance moves here make the Lambada look like child’s play. For the clubber, there’s always international DJs guesting, and for the adventurer, take a long boat ride out to the snow-white, sparsely inhabited Playa Blanca, where you can catch your own fish and sleep under the stars.

There’s no denying the pace of life here can sometimes be painfully slow. If that’s your bag, it’s the place to be. There are good opportunities for small entrepreneurs with capital, but it doesn’t have a booming corporate economy. If you don’t speak Spanish fluently, try applying to a university to teach English. If you want to learn Spanish, spend a year living here, but be warned, Cartagenero Spanish isn’t like anything spoken in the rest of the country. Real estate prices are among the highest in the country, but the sheer density of new condo developments in Bocagrande means there’s always deals to be found. Last but not least, the fiestas truly rock. Why be snowbound when you can spend all year dancing and drinking all night long?